Mamihlapinatapai
by confessions.of.katijane
Summary: One tiny rune with a strange name gives Katie Bell the courage to approach George Weasley one quiet night in detention.


**A/N: This is just a really simple one-shot I felt inspired to write after reading a Wikipedia article about this word. I love language, & I thought it was sweet, so this is a no dialogue involved piece of fluff.**

At nine o'clock at night, the Hogwarts library was deserted except for Professor Binns, George Weasley, and Katie Bell. The latter two were serving out a detention for some innocuous transgression they had committed in Transfiguration that morning, but Professor McGonagall had been too busy attending to TriWizard Tournament business to monitor them, so the task had gone to Binns who had simply told them to study while he graded essays.

Katie was attempting to study for Ancient Runes—she had an upcoming exam—but between the slow and steady hum of George's breathing and the January sleet that was running down the windows outside, she was having a hard time of it. Sighing, she propped the textbook up in order to block her view. She spent far too much time staring out of windows as it was.

She turned the page and saw a strange symbol she had never before seen. Curiosity peaked, she straightened up slightly and observed the odd little rune with its round base and hook on the side. Below, she read the following:

_Mamihlapinatapai _is a word from the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, and is considered one of the hardest words to translate. It refers to "a look shared by two people, each wishing that the other would initiate something that they both desire but which neither wants to [initiate]."

Below, there was a dated looking illustration of a man and woman separated by a lane, sharing a surreptitious glance. The earnestness in their eyes was easy to see; the woman was looking over a shoulder, her lips parted slightly in obvious anticipation. Across the lane, the man held a water jug and gazing at the woman with shy sincerity. Katie could almost feel their bated breath. Below, the word was printed again: MAMIHLAPINATAPAI.

Mamihlapinatapai.

Almost unconsciously, Katie glanced over the top of her book to where George was sitting at the table across from her. His disheveled red hair hung slightly over his eyes as he glanced down lazily at the nearly blank roll of parchment before him. Feeling Katie's gaze, however, he looked up. He smiled slightly, and his eyes lingered on her face. He let his mouth fall open for a moment as if to say something, but apparently thought better of it and closed it again. Katie stared down again at the illustration in her textbook.

Mamihlapinatapai.

It had been there since the Yule Ball last month when George had casually asked for a dance, as both of them had gone without partners. Katie was confident that he felt the same way for her as she did about him, but it had never passed either of their lips and the resulting glances, interactions, and conversations between the pair of them were strained, full of hesitations and missed signals. And now, apparently, there was a word for it.

Katie looked down once more at the tiny symbol on the page, set the book down and crossed the room. George looked up at her with mild surprise and amusement; Binns hardly seemed to notice. Sitting down beside him, she looked directly up into his eyes and felt him tense slightly at the sudden movement. George raised his eyebrows at her faintly and Katie took a deep breath before acting. She placed her hands on either side of his head, brushing the soft red hair aside with her thumbs, and leaned in to kiss him very slightly, very softly on the lips.

When she withdrew, George was staring at her as though shell-shocked. Not one word, one syllable had passed between them on this matter—no invitation made for Hogsmeade, no wreckless flirting in class. Just Mamihlapinatapai, followed by a single kiss. He hesitated for a moment, and then brought his hands up to cup her face and kissed her again.

Behind his desk, Professor Binns simply blinked.


End file.
